New Camera!
you can never have too many
So I cracked. It’s mainly his fault, but also the ongoing stress of carrying large camera bags through airports and on planes, not to mention on my back, has been getting to me.
This, coupled with a really irresistible price for an Olympus E-P2 with EVF, finally made be think, well, why not ? I can always sell it, quite conceivably at a profit, if I don’t like it.
So far, I’m quite impressed. It was pretty easy to work out how to get to grips with it, since it’s the 4th Olympus digital camera I’ve owned, and the menu logic (or lack thereof) is pretty consistent.
I’m not totally taken with the collapsible 14-45mm lens, especially the “collapsible” bit. It’s just one more thing to get in the way of getting the shot. I’m also quite surprised how loud the shutter is. And I hate, but really hate, the stupid green light around the power button. This camera is supposed to be discrete FFS!! At least Ricoh provided a firmware update to disable the similar light on the GRD2. I can only hope that Olympus will do the same.
As for image quality, well it’s pretty much what I expected. So far I haven’t done any back to back comparisons, but I can’t imagine they will contradict what everybody else says - it’s a bit better than the E-3. I can’t use Aperture for RAW processing, as it doesn’t support the camera, so I’ve returned to Iridient Raw Developer without much regret.
Certainly it is an eminently portable camera, and the kit lens seems quite nice. I’m not going to add anything else until I get more used to it. The EVF is ok, I suppose. Apparently it’s the best anybody has ever seen, which is nice, but honestly it can’t hold a candle to the E-3’s 100% OVF. But it gets the job done.
Early morning grab shot with the E-P2
3 comments
Robert Boyer November 04, 2010 - 3:01Any way- the 14-42 is a reasonable do it all lens and I have no real issues with it. I do appreciate the folding for easy stowage but... I LOVE the panasonic 20mm it is in a totally different class if you like lenses in that range. I also had the chance to try the panasonic/leica 45 and it is fantastic. Over all I am liking the panasonic micro 4/3 lenses better than the oly lenses. Mind you I am not talking about the 4/3 but the actual micro 4/3.
The really nice thing for you is that you can use your oly 4/3 glass relatively unimpaired on the micro bodies. I would love to hear how that works out for you and to see if they really are full function.
Another thing to consider is the panasonic bodies down the road. All of them are really pulling away in all their form factors from the OLY bodies and they are very very inexpensive as long as you can use your lenses w/ them. My only complaint with the GF-1 is that the EVF is not up to snuff (but it is cheap and effective when required).
RB
3 comments
david mantripp November 05, 2010 - 4:40Thanks for the comments. I'm perfectly happy with the 14-42 in terms of image quality, the only issue I have is the lack of a lens hood - not for flare reduction, but to give some protection from rain drops, etc. To be honest, I do wonder if the majority of people on forums who call for fast primes bla bla bla really have much of a clue or could actually tell the difference in a print - or indeed on screen, with EXIF removed. I've seen some examples of photos taken with the PanaLeica 25mm (4/3), I assume intended to impress, which look as they could just as well have been taken with a basic kit lens.... But I am tempted to try the panasonic 20mm.
The thing about the Olympus bodies is the IS, and I'm finding it quite phenomenal. Hand holding at 1/15th is easy, and I've got down to 1/4 with some success. And the EVF is actually very, very good.
Aperture - yeah, I'm still on v2, because my desktop box is a G5, which runs Aperture just fine, and I can't really afford to upgrade it, especially when I think of the Photoshop tax :-(
3 comments
Robert Boyer November 05, 2010 - 4:49As for the Panasonic 20 - I am a normal focal length kind of guy for the most part and f 1.7 + in body stabilization is amazing. Who needs high ISO with that? I am a little tine bit frustrated at the f 5.6 max aperture at the tele end of the kit lens but all things being equal I really am liking the micro 4/3 system.
The big surprise for me is how much I like the LX5 compact - the image stabilization in that camera is actually literally unbelievable. I can consistently do 1/4 with NO issue - I can't do that with ANY other camera ever. I can go lower as well but it takes some real care and concentration.
RB